


High School AU

by feminabeata



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: High School AU, M/M, making new friends, nerd gyu, rich nam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-19
Updated: 2015-01-19
Packaged: 2018-03-08 04:25:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3195254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feminabeata/pseuds/feminabeata
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nam Woohyun is starting at a new school, in a new town, and essentially a new life. Which means it's also time to start new relationships.</p>
            </blockquote>





	High School AU

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this ages ago on tumblr. I'm really creative with titles. Also this is my first (and probably last) attempt at High School AU. It's a woogyu must.
> 
> My take on the Rich/Popular Nam and Nerd Gyu trope.

It was Woohyun’s first week in a new school, in a new town, and essentially a new life. The reason for this recent change? His mother had recently remarried, and the man whom, he guesses, he probably should start calling “Appa,” was alright. He did have some perks, millions of them, stashed away in a guarded vault with a high interest rate.

That’s right, Nam Woohyun was now rich. Suck on that!

Gone were the threadbare hand-me-downs from his brother several centimeters taller than him. Gone was the scrimping and scraping and just getting bye. And, much to Woohyun’s joy, gone were the days and nights he had to spend alone, while his mother worked her fingers to the bone.

With all of those, the old Nam Woohyun was gone as well.

Now he was confident, happy, and had pants that didn’t pool at his ankles. Armed with a uniform tailored to his body and a brillant (and genuine) smile, Woohyun was determined to recruit several new friends and to regain the popularity that he had left in his old town (because even though Woohyun looked like he was drowning in his clothes, he was still a good-looking and charismatic guy).

And his plan was working. The moment that he walked through the school’s entrance, people were bowing down to him, greeting him, and even offering to buy him coffee…okay so that was just the staff welcoming his step-father who just also happened to be the principal of this prestigious private school. But it  _felt_  like they were doing it for him. And it lifted his spirits, calming some of the “first day” jitters that were crawling under his skin.

As it would turn out, Woohyun had nothing at all to worry about. Things seemed to fall into place naturally. His classes seemed manageable (although Algebra will always be the bane of his exsistence, even in this new life). His classmates, who were all familiar with each other and almost all grew up together, welcomed Woohyun warmly. Some girls even squealed when he introduced himself, and they laughed at his lame joke: “I’m Nam Woohyun, who’s cooler than Wonbin, Hyunbin, Lee Seunggi, Song Joong Ki, and Kim WooBin.” Even his teachers were very nice to him (being the step-son of the principal was proving to be a great advantage). And, if he’d dare say it, he made his first friend, Lee Sungyeol, who seemed to be a lunatic at first when he asked Woohyun if he wanted to see his pet monkey. Much to Woohyun’s relief, Sungyeol just pulled out a small stuffed animal monkey from his bag. “Yea, it’s fake for now. But one day it’ll be real and it will buy stuff for me at the conveince store. And if you’re nice to me, he can get something for you too.” While he was saying this, Sungyeol looked dreamily off into the distance. But eventually, Sungyeol snapped out of that day dream and asked Woohyun about himself like a normal, friendly person would. He even told Woohyun to join him and his friends at their lunch table (he didn’t really ask. It came out more like a statement. Sungyeol turned to his friend, Howon, and said “Hey! New kid’s eating with us!").

Yea, it was a pretty good first day for Woohyun, but it didn’t end once the school bell rang.

Woohyun’s step-father wanted him to wait while he wrapping up his work day. And Woohyun didn’t mind too much. It gave him time to start his homework. Maybe in this life, he’ll be a good student. Maybe he’ll even be the top of his class (okay so Woohyun couldn’t even  _think_  that with a straight face. He’ll just settle for being in the middle).

Woohyun stepped into the library, and as one would expect at the beginning of the year, it was almost empty. The long lacquered tables shone brightly, reflecting the small lamps resting on top of them. There was barely a soul moving about, save for the elderly woman placing books back onto the shelves…and for a boy about Woohyun’s age sticking his nose deep within a book. The thick, plastic frames of his glasses slid down the bridge of his nose. The boy quickly sniffed and pushed them back up with his pointer finger. Woohyun must have made some sort of noise because the boy raised his face and glanced over at the principal’s step-son, standing at the entrance of the library. Woohyun lifted his hand to wave at him, but before he could, the boy whipped his head around and plunged it back, deep within the crevices of his book. In spite of being ignored, a smirk formed on Woohyun’s face. He’s seen this type before, the lone nerd who had more books in his bookbag than friends. The nerd who seems to meld into the background. The person whose name and face you soon forget after graduating.

But Woohyun wouldn’t forget this nerd because he was determined to make this nerd his friend. No one deserves to be forgotten. No one deserves to be alone and friendless.

With a spring in his step, Woohyun walked over to the table and slid into the seat right across from the boy. “Hey!” he greeted with the best smile he could muster.

The boy lifted only his eyes to Woohyun. His head was still bowed down. He then quickly nodded his head in acknowledgement and returned back to his studies.  _Oh, he’s shy_ , Woohyun thought. Woohyun’s good with shy people. His best friend back home, Myungsoo, used to be one of them. And now Myungsoo, who used to barely spoke three words to anyone a day, won’t shut up. So Woohyun was confident that he could crack open the shell of this shy boy.

He then craned his neck, trying to read the title of the boy’s book. “Oh, studying for the College Entrance Exam?” Woohyun asked.

The boy nodded once again with a mumbled, “Yes.”

Finally, actual words. Woohyun smiled and leaned forward. “Isn’t it a bit too early?” he teased.

“Actually, I’m late,” the boy curtly responded as he turned the page and let out a frustrated huff. Woohyun rolled his eyes. Nerds always think that they’re late in their studies, that they never study enough, that they’re always behind.  _This kid needs to loosen up_.  _He still has two years!_

“Eh, I bet you’ll do fine,” Woohyun reassured him, resting his chin in his hands.

“I’ll do even better if you stop talking.”

Well, that’s no way to make friends. Neither is running away from them. The boy packed up his things and fled the library, leaving Woohyun completely alone…save for the old librarian, who was now leering at him. Oh right, you’re supposed to be quiet in these places. Woohyun bowed in an embarrassed apology to here and opened his own books to start his homework.

* * *

The next day, Woohyun tried a different strategy. He walked into the library and sat down a couple seats from the boy. Once he sat down, the nerd looked over at him curiously. Woohyun kept his lips tightly sealed, which was really hard for him. He could feel his mouth twitching to say hi. But he did smile to the nerd and gave a small wave. The nerd furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and waved back.  _Yea that’s right. Nice and slow. Break down his wall slowly._

Tomorrow, he’ll say something to him.

_And just wait and see. You’ll be my friend. They_  always  _become my friend_.

* * *

“Hey do you know what time is?”

Woohyun was still sitting a couple of seats down from the nerd, and he was leaning over the seats that laid in between them in order to whisper to the other. The nerd looked up at Woohyun again with furrowed brows. He then turned his wrists and looked down. “5:00,” he answered in a small voice, his face fixed on his book.

Well, that was a start. Maybe he could take it a step further. “Huh…Aaah! I guess it’s time for me to get a watch then,” Woohyun joked.  _Everybody_   _loved stupid jokes. Everyone loves a dummy._

The nerd dropped the book onto the table and looked at Woohyun like he was an idiot.

Okay so maybe not everyone loves a dummy. “Okay, then maybe it’s time for me to shut up,” Woohyun grumbled, turning his attention back to his homework. He tapped his pencil against his notebook and screwed his eyes shut. He could feel embarrassment building, making him more agitated.

And he could barely hear the small snicker above the tap-tap-tapping of his pencil. Woohyun looked out of the corner of his eyes curiously and saw the nerd, biting his lip to force back the small smile growing on his face and the giggles from escaping.  _I…I did that_. Woohyun himself smiled.

Tomorrow, he’ll sit across from him again.

* * *

Woohyun slid into the chair right across from the boy.  _I really need to get to know his name_.  _Maybe I’ll ask today_. But then as he was setting down his bookbag he heard a loud thud. His head whipped around to see the nerd with his head on the table. Maybe now’s not the right time. Woohyun leaned over the table and tentatively put a hand on the other’s shoulder. “H-hey! You okay?”

The boy shifted under his hand, but still let Woohyun touch him. The nerd lifted his head, resting his chin on the table, and wearing a pout on his lips. His glasses were practically falling off of his nose. “No,” he whined. Woohyun moved his hand from the shoulder, and with his pointer finger, he pushed the glasses back up the bridge of the nerd’s nose.

The boy immediately stiffened and pulled himself back up. His eyes darted away from Woohyun. His fingers pressing his glasses back into place. “But I’ll manage,” he mumbled.

“Okay,”  was all that Woohyun himself could manage. He returned back to his bookbag and pulled out his math book. He cracked it open and began trying to solve the problem. But after staring at the page for five minutes, the numbers appeared to be swirling and running together. Woohyun blinked and rubbed his eyes. No, the numbers weren’t moving. The equation was just insane, and insanely difficult. He didn’t even know where to begin.

“F**k this sh*t!” Well, Woohyun surely didn’t say that. He looked back up to see the nerd with his head back on the table, breathing heavily and angrily.

 _H-he’s having a mental breakdown_.

Woohyun got out of his chair and walked over to the other side of the table, crouching down next to the other. His hand rubbing the other’s back up and down. He could feel the other’s breaths slowing down. “Hey, let’s get out of here,” he suggested.

The nerd turned to face the other. His round cheek smushed against his arm. He sniffed and shook his head. “No, I have to study.”

“You can learn through osmosis?” Woohyun joked, pointing at the book laying underneath the other. “Wow! I wish I could do that!”

The other let out a short laugh. “Shut up,” but something about his tone told Woohyun that he didn’t really mean it.

Woohyun smiled. He could see the other’s wall crumbling. “Come on. Get up,” Woohyun commanded with a couple pats on the other’s back.

“Why?” the boy looked up at him, confused.

“Because I’m buying you a snack.”

A small smile appeared on the other’s face, and he began gathering his things. “Well, if that’s the case…”

* * *

Soon the two of them were outside, sitting on a bench outside of a nearby convenience store. Woohyun had bought the other milk and some snack bread, who was now eating it ravenously as if he hadn’t eaten in days. Woohyun chuckled to himself.  _If only Myungsoo could see this, he’d be jealous. I never bought him anything_. But then his face fell. He missed his friend. He never really treated Myungsoo like this. He should have bought something for Myungsoo when he had the chance.

“What’s up with you?” the boy next to him asked, wiping the crumbs off of his face. He had unwrapped the bread only seconds earlier but now it was completely gone.  _Where did it go_?

Woohyun tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“You’re frowning. You don’t normally do that,” the nerd stated, now slurping down his milk.

Woohyun nudged the other. “Have you been watching me?” he teased, cocking his eyebrow.

“You’re the one who keeps staring at me with that goofy grin!” the other argued. He then shivered. “Ah! It’s creepy.”

Even though the other just dissed him, Woohyun couldn’t stop from smiling. This was the most that they ever talked to each other, and the air just felt  _warm_  between them, natural. Almost like they were already friends.

“See there it is again!” the nerd exclaimed, digging a finger into Woohyun’s cheek.

“Sorry, that I’m not a cranky old man like you,” Woohyun retorted. He wanted to keep up the banter, but he must have struck a nerve because the other fell back, sinking into his seat. His face fixed on his shoes.

“I’m not always like this. I’m just….” He heaved a great sigh and moved his bangs out of his face. “Stressed.”

“That’s why you need to take a break,” Woohyun insisted. “You know, it’s okay if you’re not perfect.”

The other snorted, “I’m not perfect.”

“You could’ve fooled me,” it was a lie. The other was far from perfect. He was distant, removed, and serious. And he had a habit of unconsciously humming and tapping his foot on the ground, making it hard for Woohyun to concentrate on his homework. But not all lies were bad. Especially if it a brought a smile like that to the nerd’s face. It was an embarrassed smile, hiding it as he shook his head.

“No, no,” he dismissed Woohyun’s compliment. “You don’t even know me.”

“I would like to,” Woohyun said, leaning forward, trying to catch the other’s eye. “What’s your name?”

The nerd lifted his head and their gazes met. “Sunggyu.”

“I’m Woohyun. Nice to meet you,” Woohyun said, taking Sunggyu’s hand in his and shaking it.

 “Woohyun?” Sunggyu repeated, cocking his head. Woohyun nodded emphatically. “You’re a good kid.”

 _Well, that’s weird_. Woohyun pouted. “Who you calling a kid?” he argued.  _We’re the same age!_

Sunggyu narrowed his eyes. “You’re a first year right?”

“Yea,” Woohyun drawled out. “Aren’t you?”

Sunggyu just scoffed and turned his face away. He decided to dismiss that comment like he had dismissed Woohyun’s compliment earlier. He strectched out his arms (and almost whacked Woohyun in head) and groaned, “It’s nice out today.”

“Yea,” Woohyun agreed and stretched out like the other. “Ah the sun feels so good!” But then he faked a gasp and dropped his jaw, facing Sunggyu. “But what to do? You’re going to tan and ruin your perfect pasty skin if you stay out for too long”

Sunggyu chuckled a bit. “True. I should be getting back inside.” He gathered up his trash and got up from the bench. And Woohyun did the same. Then the two began to walk back to the dusty, old, miserable library together. “Thanks for this,” Sunggyu said, looking forward with his hand in his pockets. “But…why did you do it?”

 _Because no one deserves to be alone or forgotten_. Woohyun shrugged.  “Because you’re my friend.”

“Friend, huh?” Sunggyu repeated, smilng.  “Okay.”

Woohyun’s grin grew wider. “Okay.”

_I told you that we were going to be friends._

* * *

It was Friday. Just a week. But Woohyun had already befriended the class loner. Yea, in this new life, he was  _awesome_.

This time Woohyun  _did_  skip to that table in the library and hopped into his chair. “Hello again!” he greeted Sunggyu with that goofy grin that he  _knew_  that the nerd secretly loved.

Sunggyu, on the other hand, was frowning. “It’s Woohyun, right?” Even his voice sounded colder than before.  _What happened?_

Woohyun shook that thought from his head. “And you’re Sunggyu,” he retorted.

Sunggyu contorted his face into this unreadable expression. He was obviously upset by something. Then he suddenly got up. “Follow me,” he commanded.

“Huh?”

Sunggyu walked over and hit Woohyun in the upper arm with the back of his hand. Then he pointed to the stacks behind him.  “Come on.”

Woohyun stared at him blankly but still followed the other. But…the  _stacks? Isn’t that were couples_ …His pulse began to quicken as he looked at Sunggyu’s back. Never would Woohyun think that the other would be this…forward. They reached the back of the room, near books in languages that Woohyun couldn’t even recognize. It just felt so secluded. He gulped as Sunggyu slowly turned towards him. Sunggyu’s eyes darted all over Woohyun’s face, and then he gulped too. “As much as I like your company,” he began in a low tone, leaning in closer so that no one would hear. “You need to go.”

 _Wait. What did he just say?_ Woohyun blinked at the other. He wasn’t expecting that. “B-but aren’t we friends?” he challenged.

Sunggyu looked almost regretful. “Yea but, my test is tomorrow. You’re REALLY distracting,” he explained.

Woohyun leaned in closer until Sunggyu’s back hit the book shelves. “I’m distracting, huh?”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes and pushed Woohyun away. “Look. I don’t have time for this. Leave!”

“Sunggyu,” Woohyun started with a large sigh. He should have known that Sunggyu would try to push him away (and quite literally too. That shove kinda hurt). Loners don’t make friends  _that_ easily. “I know that you’re not used to depending on people, but you can depend on me.”

“That’s nice,” Sunggyu’s voice sounded tired. “Can I  _depend_ on you to leave me the f**k alone?”

“You don’t have to be alone!” Woohyun shouted, grabbing the other by the shoulders, shaking him a little.

Sunggyu just looked down at the hand resting on his shoulder. Then he looked up at Woohyun, narrowing his eyes.“Wait…what do  _you_  mean?”

Woohyun let go of the other and put his hands in his pockets. “Look, I know your type. You’re the nerd. The loner. But you don’t have to be like that. I’ll be your friend,” he ended with a hand over his heart.

“Pbft!” Sunggyu snorted, trying to hold back a laugh, but he couldn’t. And then that corner of the library was filled with a roaring laughter that Woohyun would have never thought would have come from the other. Woohyun shifted awkwardly in his spot, watching Sunggyu completely crumble into laughter. “I knew that you’re a first year but I didn’t think you’d be this clueless,” he sputtered.

Woohyun clenched his fists. “What?!”

Sunggyu pulled himself up straight. He put a hand on Woohyun’s shoulder, and with a slight smirk he said, “ _I’m_  Kim Sunggyu.”

“And  _I’m_  Nam Woohyun,” Woohyun retorted, mocking the other.

“I’m not a loner! Or a nerd!” Sunggyu argued. His voice louder than ever.

“But you’re always studying,” Woohyun challenged.

Sunggyu let out a frustrated sigh. “I told you. I have a test!”

“But you’re quiet!”

“That’s because we’re in a f***ing library!” Sunggyu practically shouted. A hiss then could be heard from across the room. The librarian wasn’t pleased with Sunggyu’s language. Sunggyu looked around Woohyun and bowed apologetically. “Sorry.”

“B-but the glasses,” Woohyun stammared.

“These,” Sunggyu began, pulling the glasses off of his face, and then put his finger through the gap in the frames where the lens should have been, “are fake. Yah! Don’t you know fashion?”

“B-but…b-but…”

“B-but,” Sunggyu was mocking the other this time. And he was pushing a stuttering Woohyun out of the library. “Get your _butt_ out of the library!” And with one last shove, he pushed Woohyun past the library’s threshold. Woohyun looked up at him stunned, but Sunggyu couldn’t meet his gaze. Why did he look so guilty? “Look, I’ll play with you later, Woohyunnie. But now I have to study.” Then the door slammed in Woohyun’s face.

But Woohyun could barely register it. He already had too much to process. He had apparently misread Sunggyu this whole time.  _If he’s not a nerd….who is he? Did he really just call me Woohyunnie_?

“Yah!” a familiar screeching voice hollared at him.  Woohyun turned to see Sungyeol jogging down the hall to catch up with him. His friend had his eyes glued to the door. “That was Kim Sunggyu!” Sungyeol exclaimed and then turned to Woohyun. “Do you know him?”

“ _You_ know him?” Woohyun twisted the question.

“Everybody does!” Sungyeol answered. “He’s a third year. Him and his friends are actually kind of cool.”

Woohyun pouted and looked down at the floor. “He has friends?”

“Yea. The whole class seems to like him,” Sungyeol quickled responded. “But him and his friends always try to compete with each other to see who’s the most handsome. I mean they’re good looking, but they’re not  _that_ good looking, you know? They’re not like us.” Sungyeol ended pointing at himself and Woohyun with a beaming smile. But Woohyun didn’t respond the way he wanted to. He was just staring at his shoes. “Yah, did you even hear me? I just said they’re not like us!” Sungyeol repeated a bit louder. Woohyun seemed to be a little hard of hearing at the moment.

“…maybe he is…” _Maybe he is like us…normal. Just a normal person_.

“Nah! We’re  _way_  better looking.” Sungyeol argued. “Sunggyu-hyung practically has no eyes…hm?” Sungyeol brought his face closer to Woohyun. “Now that I think of it. Your eyes are kind of small too.”

Woohyun couldn’t hear a thing the other was yelling at him.  _He’s normal_.  _And I tried to make him out to be_ …Woohyun just had to get out of there.

“Yah. Yah!” Sungyeol was shouting at his fleeing friend. “Where are you going? I take it back! Your eyes are pretty!”

* * *

The weekend, unfortunately, passed too quickly, and it was Monday, which meant that Woohyun had to go to school. Which meant that Woohyun had to see Sunggyu.

_But maybe I won’t! I never saw him outside of the library before. Yea, that’s right. Our paths don’t even cross during day. I’m totally safe!_

But then as soon as Woohyun walked into the gates of the school, he saw Sunggyu without the glasses, without the books, but with several (obviously a couple of years older) friends. All of them were laughing and joking around. And Sunggyu appeared to be the center of it.

He was never the nerd. He was actually kind of popular.

_Sh*t. My luck is complete sh*t._

Then his luck got even worse. Sunggyu caught sight of Woohyun. Woohyun decided to man up and to walk past him and greet him like everything was okay. Like he never made a fool of himself.

 And as Woohyun was walking past the other, he said, “Hey hyung.” Well that voice didn’t sound like nothing was wrong. It was small. It was sad. It was exactly how Woohyun felt.

But much to his surprise, Sunggyu jogged up to his side. “Did I just hear you call me hyung? About time, you disrespectful scamp,” he teased, ruffling Woohyun’s hair.

Woohyun stopped in his tracks and batted his hand away from his head. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were a third year? I would’ve called you that earlier,” his voice was still quiet. He was mumbling.

“I thought you knew. Everybody knows,” Sunggyu placed the blame off of himself. Then he smirked. “Everyone knows me.”

“I didn’t.”

Sunggyu sighed and put his hand on Woohyun’s hunched shoulder. “Look. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It was a simple mistake.” Woohyun was still avoiding his eyes, and so Sunggyu bent down to meet them. “Hey, guess what?” Woohyun finally perked up. Sunggyu smiled and continued, “I took the test, and I think I did well. All thanks to you.” He patted the younger’s shoulder in emphasis.

“Me?”

“Yea,” Sunggyu affirmed. “Whenever I was freaking out, you calmed me down. Not to mention you were always like ‘you can do it,’ ‘you’re smart,’ ‘you’re handsome.’” Sunggyu said in a high voice, supposedly mimicking Woohyun, but it sounded more like a fangirl.

Woohyun rolled his eyes. “I never said the last one,” he retorted.

Sunggyu opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by someone calling his name. Sunggyu turned his head and shouted to his friend, “I’ll be there in a minute!” He dropped his hand from Woohyun’s shoulder and began to back away. “Hey, instead of the library, how about we meet at the tteukbokki stand around the corner?” he suggested.

Woohyun couldn’t stop himself from smiling. He walked along side the elder up to the doors of the school. “As long as hyung buys,” he responded.

“Punk,” Sunggyu said with a scoff. “You just learned that I was your elder and now you’re taking advantage of it.”

“Hyung, buy it for me  _puhlease_ ,” Woohyun said cutely, puffing out his cheeks and batting his eyes. Hey, if he was younger, he should at least take advantage of it.

“Okay, okay,” Sunggyu agreed with a slight laugh. “I’ll see you later,” he said before departing towards the third years’ hall.

After Woohyun stopped waving to the other, he sighed happily. Sunggyu might not have been the lonesome nerd that Woohyun first thought he was, but Woohyun just might like this version of his hyung much better.


End file.
